How to Clean and Shine Stainless Steel Surfaces

I recently learned the best way to clean and shine stainless steel surfaces and I can't believe I've been doing without it for so long. Previously I just gave it a wipe with a damp cloth, maybe with some warm water and hoped for the best, but someone has shared with me a great trick using a normal everyday household product that most of us will have sitting on the shelf and never use – vinegar, white vinegar.

It's awesome, so awesome I can't wait to tell every one I know about it. I straight away got to trying it out on a couple of household things, which were looking a bit tardy and drab. Ok to be honest they looked disgusting – but not anymore!

I know it's called different things depending on where you happen to be reading, so I've included both terms for universality. If I've missed one and you feel excluded, please leave a comment below and I'll fix it up. Anyway – the filthy stainless steel item which required a good clean. It had been in storage for about a year and looked horrible – rust spots on the plates, and mould on the stainless steel. Problem? Nope. I took one bucket of soapy hot water (normal washing up detergent does the trick), a pair of gloves, and with a sponge wiped all the mould down. If you're doing this – please make sure that you're not using a scratchy sponge or steel wool or anything like that – you'll be very disappointed with the finish if you do (trust me – does not come up well). After that, wash the soapy residue off with clear clean water. Then with a little white vinegar on a clean cloth, give it a wipe – you'll have an amazing result – clean and shiny stainless steel!

Stainless Steel Cleaning Experiment # 2 – the kettle

This one was really fun – kind of like the slightly dodgy 'science experiments' you did as a kid for 'homework'. Like with the barbecue/grill – clean the outside with warm soapy water and shine it up with a little white vinegar. Now for the fun bit – the inside. Pour vinegar inside your stainless steel kettle (until it's about two thirds full) and switch it on. Make sure you stay nearby because as the vinegar boils, it may froth over – might be a good idea to switch it off if it does that. It's a bit exciting, and you feel a bit rebellious doing it, but the best thing is it really cleans up the inside of that kettle.

Remember these tips are meant to clean and shine stainless steel only – I'm not sure about other surfaces like plastics or things like that. And please only use white vinegar, I don't want to read any comments complaining that their kettle has a brown stain because the used brown vinegar – actually maybe it wouldn't stain like that, I haven't tried it. Oh and after you've boiled vinegar in your kettle, it might be a good idea to wash it out with clean water, and boil it once or twice before drinking what you've boiled – I can almost see the look on Aunt Joy's face as she sips the cup of tea you've made her. Enjoy!